Angel Food Cake

Store in an airtight container to prevent drying. Traditionally hung upside-down on a cooling rack to preserve height. Freezes well wrapped tightly.

Use room-temperature egg whites—they whip to greater volume than cold ones.

Avoid any yolk in the whites; even a trace of fat prevents proper whipping.

A copper bowl naturally stabilizes whipped egg whites and produces superior results.

Fold dry ingredients gently into the meringue to preserve airiness—overmixing deflates the cake.

Don't grease the pan; the batter needs to cling to the sides as it rises.

Adding too much flour or packing it when measuring; sift flour to aerate it.

Overmixing the batter after folding in dry ingredients—this collapses the whipped whites.

Opening the oven door early; the cake needs stable heat to set properly.

Using greased or non-stick pans, which prevents the cake from climbing the sides.

Not letting the cake cool completely upside-down, which can cause it to collapse.